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Wednesday, May 28, 2008

Wednesday I got off from work early, so I made P and I a lovely light supper to be enjoyed al fresco. On the menu? Corn soup, green bean and tomato salad, and flatbread with caramelized onions and goat cheese. This meal was an unintended but cunning exercise in the use of leftovers , and for that I must say I am exceedingly proud.

Michael Chiarello was the inspiration for the corn soup. We love the panzanella recipe in his Casual Cooking book so much we served it at our wedding.

I haven't tried much else in the book, but the corn soup caught my eye, and we just so happened

to pick up some corn at Whole Paycheck on sale this weekend. So corn soup it was. And as corn is a plant, It'll be my entry for Weekend Herb Blogging, hosted this week by Wandering Chopsticks.

I'll admit that while the flavor was nice, it was too thin, and I already cut down on the amount of water it called for. I know this is supposed to be a summer soup, but I still crave a bit of texture. The instructions are to puree and strain, so you really only get liquid. Maybe a dollop of creme fraiche would help out, but I am not one of those girls who "happens" to have creme fraiche sitting around. sorry. Also, he instructs you to boil the corn cobs, I guess to make some sort of corn cob stock, but then the soup kinda tasted like corn cob.

The flatbread was, if I say so myself, a stroke of sheer genius in leftovering. I had a half of an onion left from the soup, and a ball of pizza dough left from the weekend. While the onions were caramelizing I found just a nubbin of goat cheese in the fridge, which added a nice goaty sharpness. This time I put the pizza stone in the oven. The dough got bubbly right away and the crust was the right combination of crispy on the bottom, chewy on top.

Corn Soup (adapted from Michael Chiarello's Casual Cooking)

4 c corn kernels, from 5 ears of corn (save the cobs)

6 c water

1/2 onion, coarsely chopped

1 celery rib, coarsely chopped

1 bay leaf

1 c heavy cream (I used half and half)

sea salt

basil oil or chives

remove kernels from corn and set aside (note: this instruction is not in the original recipe, so I dumped the kernels in the pot with the cobs first, since I didn't read ahead)

place corn cobs in a pot with celery, onion, bay and water. Bring to a simmer and cook for 15 minutes. remove cobs.

Add kernels, cream, salt. Simmer until corn is tender, about 3 mins.

puree soup in a blender. rewarm if necessary and serve.

(note: I strained the puree as the original recipe indicates, but I have left out this step as I feel it results in a thin soup and in unnecessary. One might want to add a bit of potato to the soup as well to add just a bit of thickness.)

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Welcome to I'll Eat You!!

I'll Eat You is written by Lauren and her husband Paul. Lauren bakes and makes messes, Paul cooks and is tidy. Lauren likes recipes, cookbooks, and takeout. Paul likes improvisation, drinking Scotch, and eating at home. They both love to create in the kitchen (but not always at the same time), make meals from scratch, and hang out with Oliver, the scrappy little dog made from spare parts. Lauren and Paul are based in Philadelphia, PA. Contact them at illeatyoublog@gmail.com.